Crimson Guardians
by Salem A. Drako
Summary: An alternate view of the Cabal attack and how events went for different guardians. Will everything work out even without the light?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

On Patrol

"Can we get this patrol done before the sun sets?"

"What's wrong Salem? Upset that some field work is cutting into your time at the Crucible?"

"If you two are done, I have found the mission target. I suggest we move fast and get out before we attract any attention. You never know what's around."

Our fireteam never did make sense. A Titan who would love to stay in the crucible and make jokes. A Warlock that is so close to The Speaker she's practically an apprentice. Then there's me...a Hunter who who enjoys being outside the walls more than inside them. Today's mission was to recover some golden age tech for Zavala or something like that. It took us some time to fly across the planet and locate the data in an old wrecked ship, but we found it. It took even longer to make it into the ship and locate the cargo hold. Once we got inside the cargo hold I picked something up on my radar and went to investigate. That's all I remember. When my ghost, Eclipse, woke me up, he gave me the quick version of what had happened. The Fallen were in the ship and ambushed the team shortly after we got into the cargo hold. I was the closest to them so they concentrated their fire on me. Salem, the Titan I had mentioned, went into battle while Alexander, the Warlock, stayed back to finish the data retrieval. That's when the second group of Fallen attacked and killed her.

My guess is that they were in the ship long before we showed up. They probably figured if we were after some excellent tech that it could be an easy scavenge. So they followed us and we did all the hard work for them. We were outnumbered from the start. Things would have gone differently if we were all more cautious and didn't die immediately.

When Eclipse revived me, everything was foggy as usual. It took me a second to remember where I was and what I was doing. The room was littered with dead Fallen. I made my way over to Alex and had her ghost bring her back into what was left of the fight. From the look of things Salem had been busy. He wasn't in the room and we had no clue what happened. The only thing left to do was to follow the trail that Salem made.

"Cye, one would think that such a prominent Titan would have some edicate when disposing of hostiles."

"I thought the Fallen captain with his head through the wall was a nice touch, Alex."

"Alex...are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

"Yes Hunter, it seems that the Fallen have been turning this ship into a base. No wonder we were over run. I wouldn't be surprised to find a few Archons here. I doubt that they have reorganised enough for a Kell to be present. Not since the self proclaimed Kell of Kells was eliminated. It's weird though, Fallen usually live on their Ketches. Perhaps there was a power struggle or maybe the ship crashed?"

Either way we had to deal with them. We were making our way down the hallway when we found more supplies that the Fallen had pillaged. No movement or anything came up on scanners, not that I expected any given what had just happened. Salem was a popular Titan among other guardians. He has spent years refining his skills in the Crucible and on the battlefield. He has created quite the armory. The main reason is to make sure there are guardians who will fight him. It's hard to tell who someone is when they change their armor. Lord Shaxx has been known to make special matches if Salem is fighting, such as pitting four guardians against him. On rare occasions Lord Shaxx himself has even picked up his gun to fight Salem. We caught up to Salem towards the back end of the ship. Well his body anyway. The Fallen finally managed to kill him and get away. Judging by the size of the hole in the ship, we found out where they parked their Skiff. With no threats nearby, I had Salem's ghost wake him up.

"Well I think we can call this a failed mission. What do you think Spark?" Said Salem as he stood up.

"So Salem, how did you go down this time?" I asked.

"A grenade found its way onto Salem's back, and well...I'm surprised he was still in one piece." Mentioned Spark, his ghost.

I started to look around the hanger as Salem was talking to Spark. The room was littered with the remanence of the battle. A Servitor laid on the ground in pieces with a tight group of bullets in its eye, which is surprising that it's still in one piece. For a Titan that has the reputation of being reckless on the battlefield, he certainly doesn't live up to that reputation.

We spent the next few minutes trying to track the Fallen that attacked us, but it seemed like they made it away from the ship, at least to where we couldn't track them. The sun had made its way up to the sky by the time we got into our ships. Most of the ride was spent talking about how we were going to tell Zavala the bad news. Salem was trying to lighten the mood with a Zavala impersonation. Alexander was scolding him but I could tell that she was smiling under her helmet. We were almost to the tower when Spark mentioned that we will have to land manually due to a storm. I found it weird that there was a storm going on. The skies were clear when we left early in the morning, but I didn't give it much more thought than that. Shortly after that is when I lost all feeling and passed out. Our ghosts took over at some point and did an emergency landing just outside of the Tower in the forest. When I awoke I felt limp, like all my stamina had been drained. I figured it would be best to get out of the cockpit. It was dark. Early next day if I had to guess. The grass was wet with dew and their was a slight chill in the wind. Something had to be wrong.

"Cye! Oh thank The Traveler you're okay."

"Eclipse, I feel weird. What's happening to me?"

"Cye, it's terrible. The Tower was attacked."

"What! Who would be bold enough to attack the Tower? We should get back now. Every guardian will be needed to strengthen the wall." I started to rush towards my ship.

"Cye stop! I didn't get to finish. The Cabal attacked, a special division known as "The Red Legion." We can't go back. We lost everything."

"Eclipse...what do you mean "everything"?"

"The Tower, The Speaker, and The Light. That's why you passed out. They were able to put a cage around The Traveler and The Light is now lost, like we're cut off from The Traveler's gifts. All radio channels are ordering a retreat. I don't know where to, I couldn't get a strong enough signal. Cye, I don't know what to do."

"Pathetic. So we lose our Light and now we run with tails tucked." Salem apparently had come to and heard part of what Eclipse had said.

"Salem I don't think you understand."

Salem interrupted as Eclipse tried to explain. You could practically see the fire shooting out of his mouth. "I understand perfectly fine! But I refuse to abandon those who I protect! Those who live within the walls are the reason I fight, the reason why I push myself to my limits and then push some more. Why I would gladly experience death over and over again...to protect them. So I am going in there to save as many people as I can with or without my Light. I thought a ghost, someone made from The Traveler, would understand that. Apparently I was wrong. Your name suits you well Eclipse. The true meaning of The Light has been hidden from you for a long time. Good bye for now Cye. I'll see you and Alexander when I get back, and stay safe."

As Salem and Spark took off, they started making a plan as they headed to his ship. I knew there was no stopping him. He took his job seriously. He was one of the few guardians that connected with the people of the city. I remember walking in a market with him and a few children recognised his crimson armor from a crucible match that was televised. What started as him trying to recruit me for a crucible team over lunch turned into an afternoon of us kicking a ball with two kids after he signed a few autographs for the others. By the time we stopped the sun was setting, But before we left Salem kneeled down and gave the older brother his helmet. At the time, optimacy armor wasn't even available, and he gave part of his set just to make a little boy happy. His younger sister was of course jealous. I remembered that she mentioned on a few occasions that she loved the light blue color of it and how it looked cool with my armor, and not to be out shined by a walking raspberry, I gave her my hooded cloak after I signed the collar. I figured that she would grow into it some day.

As Salem's ship flew away, I went to wake up Alexander and fill her in on what happened. If Salem was successful in his mission, things would go from search and rescue to protecting and relocating. Even if it costs me my life.

Titan - Human male - Salem - Spark (Ghost)

Hunter - Exo female - Cye - Eclipse (Ghost)

Warlock - Awoken female - Alexander - (No name yet) (Ghost)


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Into the City

I always figured that I would lose my Light someday. I didn't think that it would happen to everyone else. Especially to those who had it bestowed upon them, but that's not important. Right now, I had to get back to the city. If the evacuation went according to plan, most of the people should be safe. There are bound to be a few that didn't make it, and with the lack of light...that now includes guardians. Spark determined that we were about ten minutes away from the city when we landed. We agreed that it would be suicide to fly directly into town, and since the city was just lost less than a day ago it would be unlikely for the Cabal to have any sort of major defences set up. So I would have to walk. There is a pipe for the water system that is big enough for me to slip in, and since the guardians who are usually posted their are probably gone, slipping in would be easy. During our walk we debated on how to go about our mission. We knew now that everyone that was left behind couldn't be saved, and both of us hated this. Without the light we didn't just feel powerless, we WERE powerless, it would be nearly impossible for one lightless guardian to try to save everyone left in the city... it'd cost me my only life. The pipe I was going to use for the break in came out to a few spots around the city. The best entry point would probably be the one in the markets. It was in a alley that never had a lot of traffic. The stores around it would also be helpful for hiding civilians in. As expected, it was already used as a way to get out for the initial evacuation, so I was able to slip in nice and easy. The fire that was boiling my blood was quickly extinguished when I came out of the pipe as I looked around at a street that was once littered with small, family run shops. Now it was nothing but rubble and death. If there were any survivors they were not going to be here. I decided to move towards a denser part of the city. I wanted to cry as I walked down the street, my body just couldn't handle this. All the memories that I have of this place...turned to nothing but ash and debris. I heard nothing as I walked down the road, still covered with warm coals. When the road stopped; well to be more correct, when I walked up to a bridge that had a crashed ship in it; I was hit in the head. Not hard enough to hurt, just enough for me to notice the light clank it made on my helmet. It couldn't have been the Cabal. The area was not important for their mission. As I turned I saw a kid waving me over.

"Is that a kid?"

"Yeah Spark, I think it is. I guess it looks like we're heading in the right direction."

"Hurry up before the monsters see you."

"The monsters? Salem do you think he means the Cabal?"

"Let's see...big scary beast, ugly to look at. Probably. Either way this is no place for a kid."

"Or a lightless Guardian...yet here we are."

Either way I was there to get civilians. So I walked over to the rubble. The kid's name was Timothy, but most people called him Tim. It felt like I was being interrogated as he took me to the "safe place". What was my name, why was I here when everyone evacuated, did my ghost have a name, could he see my ghost? The list went on and on. Spark decided to stay hidden wherever ghosts go when they do their little light show and go poof. After a quick five minute walk Tim lead me into a small building. There was about twenty people in the room. Most of them were well enough to move. Before I could finish scanning the room, my attention was called by a ghost. Not my ghost though. This ghost's shell was mostly white with one corner red, And I knew this ghost

"Smaragdus! What are you doing here? Wait...where's Ipsum?"

"Ipsum is not doing so well Sir. Him and Segadora were trying to escort these civilians out of the city when the cabal ambushed us. Those two immediately put themselves between the enemy and everyone else. Segadora's armor held up better than Ipsum's."

I interrupted Smaragdus before he could continue. "Where. Is. Ipsum."

He didn't reply...instead he just turned and headed to the back of the room. It wasn't good. His ghost was able to deal with some of the major damage. Mainly the bullet wounds. I could see the holes in what armor was left on his left shoulder and leg. The remaining problem was the wood sticking out of his side. Even for an exo, the wound was causing some serious damage.

"Don't worry Sir, it's only a little coolant." Ipsum replied with a light chuckle.

"Among other fluids." added Smaragdus "This isn't good, we need to get you out of here."

"And go where Smaragdus? I can't see a doctor. I'm not human. Not many people know how to fix up exo's anymore. Most of them are probably dead. Besides, the mission comes first, I need to get these civilians to safety."

"Not any more Smaragdus, that's my job. You need to stay alive long enough to get out of here so you can get fixed up. Now, where is Segadora?"

"After we pushed back the first wave of Cabal, he lead their reinforcements East away from here. His plan was to get me some replacement armor after he ditched them. Sir."

There is only one place in this section of town to get replacement armor. I am also willing to bet my ship that Segadora was talking about Titan armor and not Hunter armor. I know this since my house is South East from here and in my house is my personal armory. Can't say I blame him for looting my house, but it doesn't mean I have to be happy about it...or the fact that he was able to get into my house. Cayde-6 made a bet with me that he could easily get in there. The two year anniversary was about a month ago. So I made my way home. Hopefully it was still in one piece. Ipsum wasn't joking about the Cabal. Smaragdus had definitely made them mad. It appears that they pulled in two ships to help with the search. It's times like this that I wish my armor was't red. If I even got close to the ships searchlights, I would be in hot water.

Why does Smaragdus need to be a show off? I could almost hear Cye calling both of us a show off as I made my way through half demolished buildings. The shoulder plates on the Kerak Type 2 armor tend to make it hard to squeeze through, sadly i had to take them off. I ended up using the magnetic locks on my armor that normally hold pistols. Thankfully my under armor suit is dark grey.

"See? I'm less red now Spark."

"Yes you are. As long as the Cabal don't see the rest of your red body or the silver accents you'll be fine. I recommend when we get to your armory that I transmit your main armor back to the ship and we get you something more tactical."

"Not a good idea Spark. With the Cabal on their manhunt, they'll more than likely be looking out for any signs of survivors, that will probably include transmitting my armory. We'll just have to leave behind what we can't carry. How far are we from the house? I'm running out of rubble to climb through."

"We are one block away. Cut through our breakfast place. I remember Mike saying that there is a door that connects to the neighboring business."

"I hope Mike made it. He makes some killer breakfast tacos."

"Which ones? I remember you eating yourself into a coma on several occasions, and I'm positive that the bacon shell special has clogged something in your brain."

"Damn this place is a train wreck."

"How is that any different from any other day?"

"Well, the hole in the ceiling for one. I wonder if he'll forget my tab if I help him rebuild it?"

"I doubt it since you eat enough for four Guardians. That and your tab is a over month old." Spark was right as usual. There was a door to the business next door. Issue was that Mike forgot to mention that his neighbor put a wall up. I hoped the Cabal wouldn't hear the loud noise I was about to make as I took a few steps back. As I started running towards the wall, I could hear Spark yelling at me about this being a bad idea. The way I figured it is that my armor is heavy. Put that in motion and I would be a wrecking ball. It would probably hurt less if I was able to use my Arc light, but I was fresh out of that.

"Oh yeah! Plan B worked perfectly" I said as I fell on the floor of what appeared to be a small clothing store. Getting through the rest of the building was easy. The bombardment from the Cabal left plenty of ways for me to sneak through the buildings. Soon I was across the street from my home. I wasn't surprised to see that the house itself was blown up, still left an ache in my stomach. My armory definitely survived and it was convinced that someone was in there, due to the debris to the door was already cleared. The first door to my vault was already opened. Not that I was surprised. It mainly held ammunition and other supplies that was regularly used. I also used a suit of Phoenix Strife Type 0 armor to decorate the room. It had lost its battle potential when Lord Shaxx sliced the back of the armor open from the left shoulder all the way across to the right knee. Just looking at it gives me flashbacks of the searing pain that I felt in that Crucible match. The armor held a sword I had crafted to match the one Shaxx used. I named it the Demon Slayer since Demon was the nickname I held when I first entered the Crucible.

That same sword was now being held at my throat.

Titan - Human male - Salem - Spark (Ghost)

Titan - Exo male - Segadora- Viveiro (Ghost)

Hunter - Exo male - Ipsum - Smaragdus (Ghost)


End file.
